The Quarter Quell Goes to the Mutts
by DesideriumOfShadows
Summary: It's the 125th Annual Hunger Games and Rose Wolf has the "Honor" of being District 10's girl tribute. I don't want to give anything away about the Quell just yet. There is some foul language but no too bad. Please review!
1. The Accident

My 13th birthday was not celebrated like those in the capitol would do. Instead, my family just presented me with a few small gifts to show me they cared, but not too grand that they spent most of the money they had earned on me. District 10 isn't big about celebrations, but in three days time, the capitol will force us to celebrate after the reaping and watch the 125th annual Hunger Games that take place in a week. Another horrific part is that it's a quarter quell. President Donair will be making the announcement about what sick twist they'll add this year to mark the 125th anniversary of when the games first started.

I've been so filled with anxiety for the past few days because of this that I haven't been able to help care for my family's cattle herd. We have only four total, but my mother insists on calling it a herd. The only reason I'm disappointed about staying home though is that it keeps me from seeing my beloved horse. My brother always calls me the horse whisperer because of how Jade used to react when I entered her small pasture during her days of solitary grazing. Prancing , galloping, whinnying and nuzzling me was the only greeting she ever gave me when I was finally in sight and opening the pasture gate. This was always normal until the week of the reaping. When I did find the time to see Jade, I noticed that her behavior changed along with mine. Her leaps of happiness switched to neighs of distress. I couldn't bare to see her like that, so I had to stop the visits completely.

As I lie down to rest my mind, I hear Jade calling out for me from her paddock. Her panicked cries of wondering where I was echoed in my head and finally took their toll on my emotions. I sob into my pillow for easily a half an hour until I fall unconscious into a restless sleep with my face streaked with fresh tears.

When I finally come to, my mother is calling me to dinner. I rise into a sitting position on the side of my bed and slowly rub the soreness from my eyes. It was now that I notice the sticky feeling covering my face. The remnants of my breakdown left sticky tears on my cheeks. I rush to the bathroom to wipe the last bits of grief from my face.

The cold tap feels soothing on my swollen eyes. I somehow find the strength to look at myself in the mirror. My hazel eyes have become bloodshot and sore, and my cheeks are red. Adding to my awful appearance is my dark brown hair tangled in one big knot over my head.

Once my face has been rid of what is left of the tears and my hair is brushed out, I make my way to the kitchen and take my seat at the table next to my mom and brother. My mother's been cleaning the house all day and taking care of me while my father and brother tend to Jade and the cattle. My brother has definitely become a lot happier and more social since his 19th birthday. Anyone with a brain knows why. He's no longer in the boys' reaping ball. I on the other hand have to endure the anxiety of six more reapings until I turn 19. My family is lucky enough to have two dairy cows though, so I don't sign up for much oil and tesserae.

My parents dish out food onto everyone's plates. The moment the potatoes and ham hit the ceramic, we all dig in. it takes only minutes for us to finish dinner and scrape our dishes clean. We remain at the table for about five minutes after everyone's done though, probably to enjoy one of our last dinners as a family just in case I'm selected as District 10's girl tribute this year.

After the silence is over, everyone clears out except for me. My mom knows me well enough to know that despite the horrible mental state I'm in, I have enough energy to do the dishes. It doesn't take long though considering our plates have each been rid of anything solid during dinner.

As I put the dishes and utensils away in their drawers and cabinets, I hear through the clanking of ceramic and wood the frantic whinnies of a horse. _That has to be Jade. _I think to myself as I reach the back door that faces her pasture. Sure enough there she is pacing the fence. It's easy to see her moving around, but in the dark, it's very hard to spot her pure black coat.

I'm just reaching out to twist the doorknob when a hand comes from behind and grabs my shoulder. I jolt around to see my brother standing there shaking his head.

"What?" I ask. I don't even attempt to hide the anger in my voice.

"You can't go out there at night Rose, remember when-" He attempts to say, but I prevent him from continuing.

"I don't care Jordan! That was a while back, it won't happen again. Quit babying me!" I snap at him.

I twist the knob and force the door open. The evening spring breeze blows the hair out of my face as I close the door behind me and walk into the darkness toward the pasture. Jade seems to notice me because I can see her dark figure stopped at the fence and nods her head at me. I smile as I see my horse's mood change from panic to joy when I open the gate and enter the field of trodden grass and dirt. She greets me as if the panicked version of her never existed, rearing up and whinnying happily. For about an hour, I ride her around the pasture bareback until something catches both of our attentions. The shrubbery separating the cattle's pasture and Jade's begins to shudder. I'm not quite sure, but through the frantic whinnies of Jade, I think something hisses as she spooks and rears all the way up onto her hind legs tossing me to the ground. The attempt I make to get up is pointless and painful. I've broken my fall, but broken my arm as well. I can't move it, and in the dim moonlight, I can see blood coating my left forearm. I have just enough time to scream once for help before the lynx pounces on my throat, cutting off my air.


	2. Twist for the Quell

Dim sunlight is peeking through the shutters when my eyes finally open. My forearm that broke my fall two nights ago is bandaged in white cloth and in a makeshift sling. My mother pushes open the door, and her face lights up at the sight of my conscious body. She rushes to my side and rests a glass of water on my nightstand-probably for me-before kissing me and crying with a huge grin on her face.

Once she stops, I realize that I'm crying too. She sits on the side of the bed careful not to aggravate my arm. She begins telling me about what happened the other night after I had lost consciousness.

A lynx that has visited us in the past but escaped my father's knives-the only weapon we're allowed to have-decided to pay us a visit the night I rode Jade. It spooked her, so as a natural response, she reared up then galloped to the far end of the pasture. apparently after I blacked out from suffocation, the lynx followed Jade to the end of the pasture and scared her to the point where she was so overwhelmed with fear she kicked the lynx in the skull, killing it. Jordan was the first one at the scene because he was watching me the whole time through the kitchen window. My mom rushed outside along with my dad, and they all helped carry my limp body into the house where my mom tried her best to treat my injuries.

I interrupt my mom because I want to know where my horse is and if she's alright. She's now wearing an apologetic frown on her face.

"Rose," She begins. "Jade jumped her fence last night. She broke the top rail and jumped the lower half. No one's seen her since. The peacekeepers aren't much help since…" Her voice trails off. Of coarse it did. She doesn't want to remind me about what will happen if the Peacekeepers get to her before we do. If they find her first, they'll shoot her without hesitation.

I make a slight attempt to sit up, but my mother tells me to get some rest for the reaping tomorrow. I don't object. Even though I've been asleep for the past couple of days, my body aches, and my family cannot afford to give me any real medicine or painkillers, so sleep is the only way to escape fro the pain. As I close my eyes, my mother gently leans over and kisses my forehead before leaving the room.

My mother is in my room waking me so I don't miss the announcement about the twist for the upcoming Quarter Quell. I carefully raise my upper body into a sitting position and drape my legs off of the side of the bed. When my feet reach the floor, I carefully put weight on my legs not knowing if they'll bear my weight. My mom is waiting my the door, so I follow behind her into our family room. Jordan and my father are waiting for us. Since we're the youngest, Jordan and I have to sit on the floor while our parents share the small couch, if one could call it that.

As the Capitol Seal appears on the screen, I lean over to Jordan and whisper in his ear, " I'm sorry I didn't listen to you the other night. It's just that I wanted to see Jade and couldn't bare to hear her in distress like that. I-" He cuts me off.

"I know. Now shh, it's starting." his attention is directed to the fuzzy screen showing a blurred image of President Donair making his way toward the podium to announce the one thing on everyone's minds. He opens the box containing easily a hundred different Quarter Quell options and pulls out a yellowed envelope marked with the number 125 in the center. He then opens the envelope and pulls out a slip of paper before reading, "On the 125th anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that human nor beast, created by nature or scientists can bring the capitol down, each tribute will be paired up with a Capitol-born mutation.

Many people among the crowd already sound confused. To help them make sense of this, President Donair continues, "Each of the twenty-four tributes will be assigned a mutation produced and raised in the Capitol's finest creation lab. Once week of training will be allotted for each pair as usual. In that time, both will have the option to train in the normal training center, or can train with their mutations in the additional center. The pair will be given a choice to spend their training day in either center. In the additional training center, the tribute and mutation will train together."

So many thoughts and emotions are racing through me as I think about the Quell. Once emotion in particular is not one I should have at the moment, excitement. Just thinking about the twenty-four tributes running around the arena with venomous dogs, birds with twenty foot wingspans, deer that can swallow someone whole-all of which I've seen in the arena for real-are things that I wouldn't mind to see. The Capitol Seal appears as the anthem plays after President Donair finishes her announcement.

My mother turns off the television and calls all of us to the kitchen where she has prepared dinner. I try to keep from shoveling all of the food into my mouth, but the fact that I might starve in the arena if I'm selected is controlling me. The plate of eggs and steak that was set out for me is empty within minutes and my stomach is content, so I go to my room to take in everything that was mentioned about the upcoming Quarter Quell. As I'm laying on my under the thin baby blue blanket my mom made for me, I try to think of what the mutt might look like and how it will behave. Knowing the Capitol, it will be hell trying to train it. The possibilities are endless when it comes to creating mutts for the games. My mind drifts off as sleep overtakes my body, and I'm soon unconscious in my bed.


	3. The Reaping

I rise early to care for Jade before I prepare for the anxiety of the reaping. I'm halfway to her pasture before I realize that she jumped her fence and is currently nowhere to be found. Tears are about to start rolling down my face when I quickly wipe them away knowing that there will be more tears later after the reaping whether I'm selected or not. My mind wanders to Jade, hoping that she'll return home alive. Just the thought of the peacekeepers shooting her pains me. Jordan calling my name is what brings me back to the cruel reality. He's at my side and is obviously thinking identical thoughts.

"Come on," He says. "We-I mean, you have to get ready for the reaping." I turn my back on Jade's empty paddock and follow Jordan inside.

When I get to my room, I notice a plain dark blue dress that has been passed down from one generation to the next laying on my bed. The bottom of the dress barely brushes my ankles when I put it on, but my mother knows that I like long dresses though if it was up to me I wouldn't be wearing a dress at all.

My mother brushes back my hair and slides a matching blue headband into it. I put on an old pair of flat black dress shoes that used to belong to my mother. The mirror reflects an unnatural version of me. The dark fabric looks vibrant among the dull shades of grey, blue and white in the background.

"You look beautiful, sweetheart." My mom comes up from behind me and smiles at my reflection in the mirror. It's amazing how she can manage a smile during a day like today.

"Thanks," Is all I can say. I attempt a smile but it's pointless. I'll be at the reaping in only under an hour, so having a smile on my face is like being happy to die. It won't make any sense to smile now at a horrible time like this.

My family and I walk to the town square where the crowds of teens and their families are already forming. I hug each of them before taking my place with the other girls my age. Sage Folster, a middle-aged woman with faded brown hair who draws the names from District 10's reaping balls takes the stage.

"Welcome to the reaping for the 125th annual Hunger Games!" She announces. "I am proud to say that it is the fifth Quarter Quell which means more excitement for viewers and more hell for the tributes." She gives a slight breathy giggle before letting Mayor Hollins speak. He greets us before telling us the history of how Panem was formed and why the Hunger Games were created. He gives the stage back to Sage who walks toward the girls reaping ball. She reaches her hand in and grabs a slip before returning to the microphone Nothing would prepare me for this moment. The crowd is silent as she reads the name on the slip.

"Rose Wolf."


End file.
